Sunday 17 October 2010

A Lot of Fizz

Back again and this time I think I've got my sugar amount just right. The batch i made back in April, a while ago I know, had 1/2 a tsp of granulated white sugar added before I bottled it. Well this morning after a night in the fridge, the bottle that is, I opened it up cautiously just in case I got an uncontrollable explosion of Kombucha, and was relieved to have a fantastic pop, a mist forming inside the neck of the bottle and when I poured it, a cascading torrent of bubbles. It was ever so slightly dry but a wonderful feeling on the palate. I'll see if I can get a video put on so you can see.

Thursday 7 October 2010

A Few Months On

I've been away for a while now and my Kombucha bottles are still intact.
The bottles with 1/2 tsp of sugar were lovely and clear and almost sparkling wine like. Not too dry and with plenty of fizz.


The bottle with the 1/4 tsp was disappointing to say the least. Slightly fizzy and very dry.


I've still got 8 bottles to use up before i go back to making it again.


I've discarded the Kombucha culture that I left in the fermenting container. It looked tired and dark in colour. I have still got a culture in the fridge and it looks healthy as ever.

Monday 31 May 2010

Kombucha Sugar and Ginger

I bottled my Kombucha on the 3rd April 2010 and thought I'd experiment with some Ginger and different amounts of sugar.


I thinly sliced root ginger and added about 4 or 5 slices about the size of your index finger nail plus different amounts of sugar ranging from 1/4 to 1/2 an teaspoon.


Well I thought I'd open a bottle today to see what it tasted like and got a bit of a shock!!


There was plenty of gas produced and I managed to get the lid back on before I sprayed the entire kitchen with Kombucha.


I release the stopper a tiny bit to let out the gas and all I can say is that this is one explosive mixture.


Once the pressure had dissipated, I could smell the ginger in the air. I poured some out and WOW!! Very fizzy and a subtle hint of ginger. 


My only concern now is what the remaining bottles are like and have I generated my own accident waiting to happen.


I'll see if I can get some video footage when I next open another bottle. I think I'll open it on the decking in the safety of the outdoors.

Monday 10 May 2010

Stopped Drinking Kombucha

I've stopped drinking Kombucha fro the time being as suggested by a few books I've read. They mention the 'Interruption Theory' to suppress the bodies reliance on the product you are using. It allows the body a chance to 'return to normal' if you like. A suggested time scale is anywhere from 2 weeks to a month.
We will see what happens.

Wednesday 21 April 2010

Apple in my Kombucha

I put the apple pulp in a batch of Kombucha I made on the 18th March 2010. I had hoped it would make a huge difference to the fizz. I must say I was a bit disappointed but the flavour was still acceptable.

The fizz that was there was still noticeable but may be i should use filtered apple juice with a higher sugar content.

I had better success with the Blueberries although they were a wee bit on the bland side when it came to flavour. Perhaps I should have use the cooking apple instead. Come to think of it, maybe the Bramble cooking apple would make the difference.

Saturday 3 April 2010

I've left my Kombucha for too long.....or have I?

I have been side tracked for the last week or so with on goings in the house that I neglected my Kombucha brew. I normally have it fermenting for about 9 days which gives my 6 Litre batch enough time to convert the sugars. After this time period, there has been a consistent loss of liquid of around a litre. Well this time it has been reduced by 2 litres which is quite a lot considering that I only let it ferment for 2 weeks.


I was expecting too see an exhausted Scoby but too my surprise, it was beautifully white and healthy. On removing it to see the colour of the liquid, I was chuffed to bits to see that it hadn't been affected by this longer period. OK the 'yeasty threads' were more abundant and the liquid appeared darker but all I did was place my tea strainer in the liquid at the mouth of my tap, that way at least I could be happy that I would get a clearer liquid when I bottled.


Having tried the apple juice route last time, i thought I'd try something different....


I like the flavour of 'ginger ale' and thought 'what would it taste like if I added some slithers of ginger root?'. So this time I have put about a 1/2" cube of thinly sliced ginger root in and added a 1/4tsp of caster sugar to assist a second fermentation and provide me with some fizz. I have also added a 1/4tsp of caster sugar to 2 other bottles and 1/2tsp to another 2 to see what happens.

So what's going on with them apples?

Well it has been some time since I added the apple juice to my Kombucha brew and I have to disappoint. I am still going through my previous batches of Kombucha. However, I have introduced a few of my work colleagues to the beverage and may be around to trying the apple experiment pretty soon.


All I can say is it appears that the apple pulp and Kombucha have had a party and a new Scoby has formed and will need straining when I try it. That's if it doesn't get jammed in the bottle neck!!